The most “natural” thing in the world when someone hurts you or is mean, unkind to you, speaking evil, mocking you is to withdraw from them and maybe even secretly hope all kinds of evil befalls them. Or let them have a blast of what you really think of them and seek to put them in their place. Yep, that’s the most natural thing to do. But Jesus disciples, His pupils, learners, are now those who have a Supernatural life, they have the Holy Spirit residing within them and God is working IN them bot to desire and do His will, FOR His good pleasure.-{Read Phil 2:13}. “… seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”- {2 Peter 1:3-4}. Divine Power to enable us and precious and magnificent promises to avail of. We have been giving “everything pertaining to life and Godliness.” We lack nothing to be able to do His Will. He works in us not only the desires but the ability and has given us Divine Power and promises to enable us to live differently. As gravity keeps us down, so sin does. But just as aerodynamics are able to be used to take huge metal and all its weight into the sky and fly as an airplane or into space as a shuttle is able to go way beyond the earth, so in the Spiritual realm God has given and equipped us with everything we need to live on a higher plane. A God honoring plane in this ungodly world. We are not superior but recipients of Divine mercy and grace and appointed as His Ambassadors to hold forth the message of reconciliation to those in need and sometimes these are people who are antagonistic indeed who make us their enemies. How are we to respond. The “natural” is to lash out at them verbally the supernatural is to seek their highest good because we know from Scripture they are spiritual prisoners, captured to do the will of the evil one as 2 Tim 2:26 says.
Let’s look at Jesus will and way for all of us who are His to respond in very very difficult circumstances with very difficult,unkind, unloving, hateful people, who have set themselves up to oppose us by choosing to be our enemies, filled with hate towards us, who curse us at times and who mistreat seeking our worse. We are to respond by seeking their best! Seems far fetched! But no, it is God’s will. His Way and His Word points out how we are to respond as the new habit of our life. It is not that we are not without feeling of the hurtful way we are treated but by his grace and for His glory and Honor we submit to his Word, depending upon his Spirit to strengthen us and He will as we choose to obey the LORD and this we do as an expression of Love for Him. John 14:21 Jesus says “he who has My commandments and keeps them loves Me.” We do not seek to love for acceptance with him but because we are accepted we choose to obey as a n act of love for Him.
So How Does He say we are to respond to those who have chosen to be our enemies? Note we have not chosen to be their enemies but they have chosen to be opposed to us and be an enemy to us!
“But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,pray for those who mistreat you. ” -{Luke 6:27-28}
He gives 4 Commands.
He gives 4 ACTIVE words… to deliberately do good to one’s enemies. These are to be the pattern of our attitudes and actions.
Love your enemies – Love that is committed to the highest good of the other person. The attitude that seeks the highest good of the sinner, and does acts of love. They are those who need to know the LORD, His forgiveness. Love them, thoughtfully, considerately, specifically, sacrificially, means denying yourself to prefer them, for Jesus sake! -{Read Phil 2:3-5; 2 Cor 4:5}. Jesus says in Matthew 5:43, “You have heard it said – ” which means this is the rabbinical tradition – “love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” They were taught to HATE. Jesus is now saying I am going to have to teach you what is right. “Love your enemies.” DON’T HATE THEM! This would have been shocking to His hearers, but so much of what He said was and is shocking. But to those who have ears to hear Him and know HIM this is His Way. He gives the power they can do so because of the new life He imparts and they possess in Christ. {Read Phil 2:13; 4:19; 2 Peter 1:3-4}.
Do Good to them – actively seek that which is beneficial to them. The word “good,” is not superficial but what is inherently good. You are looking out for their best interests. What can you do to help show them the LORD and what would be of good for their eternal benefit. What ACTS of goodness can you show them. You are in their life and do good to them. Acts of goodness.
Bless them – Don’t return unkind speech with unkindness, but choose to do so with kindness, gracious speech, that builds up, not with rotten speech. The word, “Bless,” means to speak well to them, praise them.-{Read Eph 4:29}. Because you are a new creature in Christ and have Divine power working in you, you can choose and do love them, do good to them and bless them with words that build up, speak well of them. This includes speaking about sin, judgement, Heaven and Hell, repentance, faith, forgiveness, eternal matters. Speak to them of the love of the LORD Jesus for them, His coming, His cross, His Blood, His resurrection, Grace, peace, Divine favor… and do it all in gentleness, not argumentative.-{Read 2 Tim 2:24-26}. It is present imperative which means this is to be the practice, habit of our life, speaking well, good of, praise them. What do you find in their life that you can commend? Commend them for it. “Speak well of those who speak ill of us.”
Pray for them – Pray what is best for them, to know Him. One prayer you could pray is “that God would grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will..”-{Read 2 Timothy 2:24-26}. You are appealing to God on their behalf, interceding for them before His Throne. Paul tells Timothy in regards prying for the lost, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men for kings and all who are in authority, …This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.“- {1 Tim 2:1,3-4}. Praying for their soul, that God may have mercy and save them! Standing in the Gap for them.
He says they must “love their enemies,” do good and overcome evil and not be overcome by it, through actively doing good to them and for them. Speak blessings into their life, speak well not rotten, harsh, critical or ‘put down’ crude, unloving speech. Instead, speak speech that builds them up, wholesome, uplifting truth in love.
The LORD Jesus felt and demonstrated love for us all. He acted towards us with deeds of goodness. He speaks graciously… He prays even now for us… and we can and must do likewise. 4 Short commands of how we are to THINK and TREAT others for Jesus sake…even our enemies. To the natural, lost person it’s impossible. For they have no power to do so and certainly no desire for the best for those who oppose them and treat them badly. To the believer it is not only possible it is commanded and He has given us the Spirit of God to empower us and His Word to guide, encourage us. -{Read Philippians 2:13; John 16;13}
It is easy to withdraw into a shell because of their un-love and even feel sorry for yourself, trust the LORD to remind you of this verse and do it. And that He would give you His heart for them for unless they repent they will perish. “But GOD…” He sent His Son to save. One encouraging verse is “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”-{1 Timothy 1:15}. Sometimes when I pray for someone who does not know Him, I pray this verse and may say, “Lord You came to save sinners and ______ is a candidate for they are a sinner!”
THE LOVE OF CHRIST AND THE COST TO LOVE;
Don’t for a moment think that it does not cost you, or that you do not feel the cruel hurtful things that are said, as though somehow you are not human and have no emotions, and are immune. But in it you do also enter into the sufferings of Christ who came unto His own and His own received Him not. They said He had a demon, He was illegitimate, He was a blasphemer, He worked miracles because of being in alliance with the devil. Even while suffering upon the cross they passed by hurling abuse at Him, mocking Him. They killed Him. Why? They were His enemies. And His crime? He came to do good for them, He loved them, He was crucified for them. At any second He could have taken things into His own hands and come off that cross and made them all suffer, but love is not vindictive. Love seeks the highest good for others and in his case thought they did not know, nor did we until The Holy Spirit convicted us of our personal sin against Him and turned us to Him and in repentance we fell before God and submitted our self, and sin to Him entirely and exclusively to be forgiven by him whose Name we cursed and used as a curse word, who we despised, mocking others who shared with us, ” But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”-{Ephesians 2;4-9}.
He loved us and it cost Him His life so we would not lose our life for eternity. He took our sin so we would die in our sin. And now He affords us the privilege to be His Ambassadors with His message to share so others too might be rescued and come to know the Prince of Love. It cost’s to love others. But He is worth it!
You are not responsible for others attitudes, or actions, only for your own response. But in the hard place you have the power to love them and you have His precious and magnificent promises to strengthen, guide you in being His light in their spiritually darkened place. – {Read 2 Peter 1:3-4}.
It is interesting it does not say what we are NOT to do but as His people but actively what we are to do for them. Seeking their highest good. It’s not about avoiding them but actively doing good to them and for them. Only God can change a person. And we seek to co labor with Him in seeking their highest good that ultimately they may be spiritually free to love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength and worship Him in Truth, because He is worthy of their worship!
MOTIVATION;
As an expression of Love to Him-{Read John 14:21}; “…FOR JESUS SAKE”-{Read 2 Cor 4;5}. For His glory, “…whatever you DO, DO All for the Glory of God. “-{ Read 1 Cor 10:3}. Do for their eternal well being!-
MEMORIZE;
Hide these verses in your heart, so the HOLY SPIRIT can recall when you need them, so you may love your enemies and when tempted to do otherwise can remind you of the way of Love, the way of the LORD.
Sometimes what I do is I read the first word, and when I get to the second word, I then go back and start at the first word again reading the second word and when I get tot he third word, then again back to the first and read all the way to the fourth and every time I read a new word I go back to the first until I have done this with the whole verse. Perhaps this can help you familiarize yourself with the verses. Perhaps that would work for you. Ask Him to help you hide it in your heart and mind
Maybe you could write it out on a 3 by 5 card and put on your bathroom mirror and in the morning read it and last thing at night as you brush your teeth and if you do that for a month that is approx 60 times you will have read it and before you know it you will have memorized and will be fuel for the Holy Spirit to help you to follow His way and do His will and in doing so express love to the LORD.
MEDITATE
Word for word, phrase for phrase, what does it mean. When you have free time and you do not have to concentrate on school, work, etc, then train your mind to go to Him and His Word. Can’t sleep do what the Psalmist did night and day He mediated upon His Word and found great delight in doing so.-{Read Psalm 1:2}
APPLY
When you encounter those who are enemies to you, be they in your own home, school, work wherever, choose to honor the LORD Jesus and practice. But what if you fail? Confess it as sin and thank God the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from all unrighteousness! Realize you are in dependence upon the Holy Spirit to empower you and this He will as you yield to him and His WORD!
You can say based on the authority of His Word…
I can LOVE because I Have the Power of the Holy Spirit enabling me to.-{Phil 2:13}
I can DO GOOD because I Have the Power of the Holy Spirit enabling me to. -{Phil 2:13}
I can BLESS because I Have the Power of the Holy Spirit enabling me to. -{Phil 2:13}
I can PRAY because I Have the Power of the Holy Spirit enabling me to. -{Phil 2:13}
“I can do ALL things Through Christ who strengthens me.” -{Phil 4;19}.